Table of Contents

Systematic Review of the Effects of Early Family/Parent Training Programs on Antisocial Behavior and Delinquency, 1976-2007 (ICPSR 31702)

Principal Investigator(s):Piquero, Alex, University of Texas-Dallas; Farrington, David, Cambridge University; Welsh, Brandon, University of Massachusetts-Lowell; Trembley, Richard, University of Montreal; Jennings, Wesley, University of South Florida

Summary:

The purpose of this review was to assess the available research evidence on the effects of early family/parent training on child behavior problems including antisocial behavior and delinquency and to investigate in which settings and under what conditions it is most effective. Researchers used the following 7 search strategies to identify 55 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for this review: performed a keyword search on an array of online abstact databases; reviewed the bibliographies of previous reviews of early family/parent training pr... (more info)

The purpose of this review was to assess the available research evidence on the effects of early family/parent training on child behavior problems including antisocial behavior and delinquency and to investigate in which settings and under what conditions it is most effective. Researchers used the following 7 search strategies to identify 55 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for this review: performed a keyword search on an array of online abstact databases; reviewed the bibliographies of previous reviews of early family/parent training programs; performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal studies in this area; performed hand searches of leading journals in the field; searched the publications of several research and professional agencies; contacted scholars in various disciplines who were knowledgeable in the specific area of early family/parent training; and consulted with an information specialists at the outset of the review and at points along the way in order to ensure that the appropriate search strategies were used. Both published and unpublished reports were considered in the searches. Searches were international in scope. All eligible studies were coded on a variety of criteria including: reference information, nature and description of selection of sample, outcomes, etc., nature and description of control group, methodological type, a description of the family/parent intervention, reports of statistical significance (if any), effect size/power (if any), and the conclusions drawn by the authors.

Access Notes

The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public.
Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

Universe:
All published and unpublished studies examining the effects early family/parent training programs on childhood delinquency and other behavioral problems before 2007.

Data Types:
aggregate data,
text

Data Collection Notes:

These data were collected as part of a systematic review for the Campbell Crime and Justice Coordinating Group (CCJG). Further information about the Campbell Collaboration and the Campbell Crime and Justice Group can be found at the
Campbell Collaboration Web site.

Methodology

Study Purpose:
The purpose of this review was to assess the available research evidence on the effects of early family/parent training on child behavior problems including antisocial behavior and delinquency and to investigate in which settings and under what conditions it is most effective.

Study Design:

Seven search strategies were employed to identify 55 studies meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review:

Researchers performed a key word search on an array of online abstact databases.

Reseachers reviewed the bibliographies of previous reviews of early family/parent training programs.

Researchers performed forward searches for works that have cited seminal studies in this area.

Researchers performed hand searches of leading journals in the field.

Researchers searched the publications of several research and professional agencies.

After completing the above searches and reviewing previous reviews, researchers contacted scholars in various disciplines who were knowledgeable in the specific area of early family/parent training.

Researchers consulted with information specialists at the outset of the review and at points along the way in order to ensure that the appropriate search strategies were used.

Both published and unpublished reports were considered in the searches. Searches were international in scope.

Sample:

The eligibility criteria were as follows:

Types of Studies: The study must have used a randomized controlled experimental design. The study must have included at least one child-based behavioral outcome measure such as general behavior problems, antisocial behavior, delinquency, etc.

Types of Participants: The review was primarily limited to families with a child under age 5 or the mean age of the sample was approximately age 5 at the start of of the intervention to ensure that the interventions were provided early in the child's life. Selected interventions could target either the general population (universal intervention) or a high-risk group (selective intervention).

Type of Intervention: Studies were eligible for this review when parent training or support was a major component of the intervention.

Types of Outcomes: The original aim of the review was to assess the impact of the intervention on the children's delinquent behavior. However, since only a few studies assess delinquency, the scope was expanded to include studies with outcome measures of childhood behavior problems as well. These assessments included parent-, teacher-, and/or direct observer-rated measures of child behavior problems.

Sufficient Data: The study had to provide adequate data for calculating an effect size if one was not provided. In addition, studies that failed to provide any information on the sample size for either the treated or control groups for which their analysis was based on were also excluded.

There were no restrictions to time frame, other than researchers began with the first study identified by Bernazzani et al. (2001).

The following keywords were used to search the databases listed above:

"Parent Training" AND "childhood" OR "pre-school" AND "delinquency" OR "conduct disorder" OR "anitsocial behavior" OR "aggression" OR "physical aggression" OR "behavior problems".

"Family Training" AND "childhood" OR "pre-school" AND "delinquency" OR "conduct disorder" OR "antisocial behavior" OR "aggression" OR "physical aggression" OR "behavior problems".

The publications of the following groups were searched:

Washington State Institute for Public Policy

Institute for Law and Justice

Vera Institute of Justice

Rand Corporation

Description of Variables:

All eligible studies were coded on a variety of criteria including:

Reference information (title, authors, publication year, etc.)

Nature and description of selection of sample, outcomes, etc.

Nature and description of control group

Unit of analyisis

Sample size

Methodological type

Description of the family/parent intervention

Dosage intensity and type

Implementation difficulties

Statistical test(s) used

Reports of statistical significance (if any)

Effect size/power (if any)

Conclusions drawn by the authors

Response Rates:
Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales:
none

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

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Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, and the Office
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